Dried Echinacea

Dried Echinacea

Echinacea is by far number one when it comes to resistance-increasing herbs. Echinacea or also called Red Coneflower, protects the body against bacteria and viruses. Echinacea was already used by the North American Indians for toothache and sore throat, as well as for the treatment of rabies and snake bites. Today, Echinacea is mainly used to improve resistance and as an antiseptic for all kinds of inflammation.

Storing herbs

It is important to keep herbs in a dark, dry and well-ventilated place. Moisture is bad for the quality of herbs. If moisture gets to herbs, they can mold. That is why our herbs are never packed in plastic and only in paper.

! Herbs should not be stored in plastic.

Good to know

DRD Knaagdierwinkel ^® is the right place for fresh and traditionally dried herbs of the highest quality! In our herb shop you will find different types of dried herbs, leaves and flowers.

Herbs are a nice addition to the daily menu of your rodent or rabbit. How many herbs you give strongly depends on the type of animal. Guinea pigs, Rabbits, Chinchillas and Degus will love to eat a lot of herbs.

The herb mixtures of the Rodent Grocery ^® contain only the 1st class quality Leaves, stems and flowers. Carefully packaged in special paper (food) packaging. Directly from the grocer, so no between suppliers. The latter guarantees optimal freshness of the herbs. With us, the herbs are stored in a special dark room.

We have consciously chosen paper to not only support the freshness of the herbs, but also that of the environment. In addition, the paper bag protects better from light and allows the herbs to breathe. A suffocating plastic bag does not benefit the quality of the herbs.

Picking place for the herbs
The picking location of the herbs is very important. Herbs should not be picked from a contaminated place. So not next to the road or around industrial areas. Our herbs are all picked in nature reserves.

Only the most beautiful plant will last
Only the most beautiful plant may be picked. Plants with spots, bugs or insects are not picked. A plant must be healthy and clean to be eligible for the rodents.

Harvesting herbs

Weather conditions play a major role in the picking of herbs. The weather should be dry and preferably sunny and windless. These are the best conditions for picking herbs. It depends on the plant at what time of the day they can be picked. Our grocer is aware of this and knows exactly what time to choose for which plant. In summer, the plants should be picked in the morning (because of the heat), before they wither due to the sun and the volatiles evaporate. So early in the morning only after the dew evaporates.

Picking herbs after a rainy day is also not allowed. The herbs are then very difficult to dry and can mold and rot more quickly.

In order to preserve as many active ingredients as possible, it is important to keep an eye on the times of the harvest. Our grocer does this very carefully.

Branches : Our branches are usually cut back in the winter, when there are no more leaves hanging from them and the nutrients are well preserved within the branch.

Bark : Best harvested in early spring. Just before the flowering period, the sap flows freely through the twigs and branches.

Leaves : These are best picked after buds appear at the beginning of the flowering period. This is the time when leaves are high in juices. Too early makes the leaves too wet and picking too late makes them poor in active ingredients.

Flowers : These are best picked at the beginning of the flowering period. Just before they open, but before they fully open. The timing has to be perfect! Our roses are therefore harvested as buds.

Fruits : Our fruits are harvested just before ripeness. Now is the perfect time.

Harvesting in a respectful way

We think it is important that our herbs are harvested in a way that is respectful to nature. This means that nature is not trampled on, the animals that live within this nature are not bothered and the harvesting places are not thinned out. Harvest places must be able to rest. We also take into account protected plant species, they must not be affected.
We support the butterfly and bee population through the way of sowing and harvesting.

Drying herbs

A dried herb can be used all year round. Once all moisture has evaporated, there is no longer any chance of mold and rotting. This is also the reason why we advise not to package the herbs in plastic. At high humidity, moisture can get into the plastic and thus cause mold and rotting. Bacteria have free rein when the environment is moist. A properly dried herb normally contains no more than 10% moisture.

Before our herbs are dried, they are cleaned. That is to say, cleared of soil, soil, moss and excess plant parts. This happens immediately after harvesting the plant. Then the drying process can begin.

The flowers must be dried in the dark, while roots dry better in the open air. Each plant part has its own preference for a drying process. We take this into account so that we can guarantee the best quality.